Driver jumps canal bridge with stolen truck

Driver jumps canal bridge with stolen truck

ST. CATHARINES — A Niagara Falls man is lucky a bite from a police dog was the extent of his injuries after he jumped a stolen truck over a canal bridge as it was being raised.

The incident occurred 12:30 a.m. Saturday when a Niagara Regional Police officer say a white Chevrolet Silverado being driven erratically on Hartzel Road. The officer flipped on his lights, but the truck kept going.

After driving about 4 km through city streets, the suspect headed towards the Homer Bridge over the Welland Canal at Queenston Street.

The safety arms were lowered, and the bridge was being raised for an approaching ship. Despite the obvious danger, the driver smashed through the arm, drove up the bridge incline and became airborne as it crashed through the safety arm on the other side.

A short time later, police found the vehicle with extensive front-end damage abandoned in a parking lot on Coon Road, near York Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Police established a perimetre, and K-9 officers were able to track the man about 1.5 kilometres, finding him hiding in a bushed area.

During the arrest, the man suffered bite wounds to his leg.

The man, a 35-year-old Niagara Falls resident, has been charged with flight from police, possession of stolen property over $5,000, mischief over $5,000 and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

Police later determined the vehicle had been reported stolen from a Fonthill dealership sometime between Nov. 7 and 11. The truck was involved in another incident on Dec. 5 where a police cruiser was rammed. That incident remains under investigation.